Monthly Archives: June 2018

Ruth’s charity bike ride

On 29 July 2018 Ruth Newman, from the Student Immigration Compliance Team, will be taking part in Ride London, cycling 100 miles from east London out to the Surrey hills and back.

Ruth is riding to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT), a charity which creates world-class cancer services for young people, providing care and support so that they don’t have to face cancer alone. This is the second time she has taken part in the event and she aims to raise £1,000 to help the TCT continue its work with young people.

A regular cyclist, Ruth has been training for Ride London with a good few 50 mile+ rides completed at weekends, as well as regular cycle rides to work. You can help her reach her target by donating online.

OH Overseas Travel Health Advice

Do you travel overseas in the course of your job? Are you a Travel Planner for your School or Department? If either of these statements apply to you then you would probably be interested in the updated Travel Health Information on the OH website.

Also, Caroline Groombridge, one of the OHWAs has undertaken additional training in Travel Health and is happy to address any queries you have related to your health while you are away on University related activities. Caroline works part-time so, although you can email her directly, it might be more useful for you to contact OH Admin on ext 4691 or by email on occupationalhealth@kent.ac.uk so a convenient time for you can be slotted into her diary for her to discuss issues with you. This can be by telephone or face to face.

Medway Festival of Learning and Teaching: Register now

Registration for this year’s Medway Festival of Learning and Teaching is now open.

Entitled ‘Inclusive Practice and Student Success: Leading Change across the Medway Campus’, the Festival takes place on Thursday 13 September, from 09.00 to 14.00 in PK008, Pilkington Building, Medway Campus.

All staff are welcome to attend. Email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk to book a place at the event and confirm your dietary requirements.

The Student’s Union (Kent Union) Code of Practice

The Students’ Union (Kent Union) Code of Practice has been updated for 2018.

The Code of Practice governs the arrangements for Kent Union, including the rights of members, opting out of membership and other important information.

Kent Union is a registered charity and therefore subject to the restrictions placed on charities by the law. Kent Union’s charitable objects are the advancement of education of students at the University of Kent for the public benefit by:

1) Promoting the interests and welfare of students at the University of Kent during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students;

2) Being the recognised representative channel between students and the University of Kent and any other external bodies; and

3) Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students.

If you have any questions about the updated Code of Practice, please contact councilsec-staff@kent.ac.uk.

Technician Commitment launch event Wednesday 4 July

Learning and Organisational Development invite technical staff at the University to an event to launch the Technician Commitment.

The event will take place at the Canterbury Campus on Wednesday 4 July between 11.00 and 14.00. This will be an informal event, that includes lunch, and will:

Launch the Technician Commitment at Kent and generate ideas about how Kent can meet its pledge to technicians
Celebrate the contribution of Kent’s technical staff

Representatives from the Technician Commitment and the National Technician Development Centre will be attending.

Please book a place through the Learning and Organisational Development activities calendar by 19 June 2018.

Staff BBQs, Canterbury and Medway – 20 and 22 June

All University staff are invited to a lunchtime BBQ hosted by the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox.

The lunchtime BBQs will take place on the Registry Lawn in Canterbury on Friday 22 June (12.00 -14.00) and outside No 1 Bistro in Medway on Wednesday 20 June (12.00-14.00).

Please register for either Canterbury or Medway and bring your ticket with you on the day.

Canterbury: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-kent-staff-bbq-canterbury-campus-2018-tickets-45548241015

Medway: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-kent-staff-bbq-medway-campus-2018-tickets-45548365387

The RSVP for this event is Monday 18 June, please register as soon as possible as this is a popular event.

Vegetarian and vegan food will be provided, but please do register any other dietary requirements.

The BBQs are free events for staff and we hope to see you there.

Please email events@kent.ac.uk if you have any further questions.

Dr Robert Fish appointed lead editor of major new journal

The British Ecological Society (BES), in partnership with its publisher John Wiley & Sons, has announced the launch of a new international journal.

People and Nature is an open access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed work from research areas exploring relationships between humans and nature.

The journal will be led by Kevin J Gaston, Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Exeter. Gaston will work closely with lead editors Robert Fish, Rosie Hails, Kai Chan and Cecily Maller, and an expert board of associate editors drawn from a wide array of fields that intersect with ecology, including economics, law, geography, sociology and the wider arts and humanities.

Recognising the importance of human aspects in all areas of ecology, People and Nature fosters innovation and experimentation. Authors may use quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies.

Dr Robert Fish, Reader in Human Ecology at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, added: ‘Ecological questions are wrapped up inside a wider set of political, social and cultural concerns and conundrums. This journal will be an important venue for debate and innovation in the complex arena of people-nature interactions.’

People and Nature will open for submissions in June.

Available exclusively online, People and Nature will be published in partnership with John Wiley & Sons, alongside five established journals from the BES, namely: Journal of Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Functional Ecology, and Journal of Animal Ecology.

Follow @PaN_BES for updates.

SMFA’s Dr Aki Pasoulas has work selected for International Sound & Music Conference

Dr Aki Pasoulas, Director of Programmes (Music), Director of Education, and Director of MAAST (Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre) in the School of Music and Fine Art, has had his electroacoustic composition Irides accepted in the peer-reviewed conference Sound & Music Computing (smc2018) with the general theme Sonic Crossings.

The concert will be held in Limassol, Cyprus, between 4 and 7 July. Keynote speakers include renowned composer Trevor Wishart.

Find out more on the conference website.

Irides (which literally means rainbows), was premiered on 24 April 2017 at the Sound of Memory symposium at Goldsmiths Great Hall, London. It has been subsequently selected for performances at the ISSTA (Irish Sound Science and Technology Association) conference at Dundalk, Ireland, at the Sound/Image conference in London, at the ICMC2017 (International Computer Music Conference) in Shanghai, China, and at the Helicotrema festival in Venice, Italy, in a concert curated by Hildegard Westerkamp.

Aki Pasoulas is an electroacoustic composer, whose works are regularly performed worldwide.

Also see https://www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/news.html?view=2609

Student voter registration

Want to make sure your voice is heard in the next election? Register to vote with your new term-time address on your return to University.

Why do I need to register?
You will be deleted from the electoral register at your existing student address during July / August this year.

When can I register?
When you return to Canterbury in September / October, you will need to register to vote (www.gov.uk/register-to-vote) giving your new term-time address.

What if I don’t want to use my vote?
If you return and decide that you do not wish to register to vote in Canterbury, please send an email to electoral.services@canterbury.gov.uk giving your name, address and stating why you do not wish to register to vote.

When is the next election?
The next planned election for the Canterbury area is the City election which will be held on Thursday 2 May 2019.

Student Success Project – Mainstream Initiatives Launch

We are delighted to invite you to the next Student Success launch on Wednesday 27 June. At this event, we will be launching the improved Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2, SStaRT: the Student Success Resources Toolkit, and the highly anticipated Progress Profiles

Programme

13.30-13.45 – Arrival and refreshments
14.00-14.30 – Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2
14.30 – 15.00 – SStaRT: Student Success Resources Toolkit
15.15 – 16.00 – Progress Profiles demo and questions

Student Success Dashboard – QlikView Phase 2

The second version of the Student Success QlikView dashboard, which can provide data about school cohorts, is released with added functionality, and granularity
Access to the SSP Dashboard is strictly limited, so this is your opportunity to see what data is available to you and find out who has access in your department

SStaRT: the Student Success Resources Toolkit

Come and find out how the new toolkit can help you find the best initiatives for your school
Hear how to contribute your own activities and best practice to the toolkit

Progress Profile

See the long awaited Progress Profiles and learn how they can support Academic Advisor meetings
Hear when they will be available, and what information they will contain

For more information and to register for this event and to see the agenda please visit our EventBrite page.

This event is free and open to all Kent staff.